‘Babies’ trailer and babies of the big screen

Our friends at Madman have sent through a trailer to the forthcoming movie Babies, a new film that simultaneously follows four babies around the world – from birth to first steps.

The children are Ponijao, who lives with her family near Opuwo, Namibia; Bayarjargal, who resides with his family in Mongolia; Mari, who lives with her family in Tokyo, Japan; and Hattie, who resides with her family in the United States, in San Francisco.

From French documentarian Thomas Balmès, the film was nominated by the Las Vegas Film Critics Society Awards for a best documentary award. The experienced director has a unique world view, having shot much of it in documentaries Damages (2005), A Decent Factory (2004), the Gospel according to the Papuans (1999), Maharajah Burger (1997), and Bosnia Hotel (1996)

Due out in Australian in May, Babies is plugged as “re-defining the nonfiction art form”. Babies aims to capture on film “the earliest stages of the journey of humanity that are at once unique and universal to us all”.

5 More Movie Babies

They may be small, but babies have played a large part in a number of our favourite films. Here’s a selection of some of the noteworthy ones.

Baby Herman (Who Framed Roger Rabbit): There aren’t too many babies that have a mean cigar-smoking habit, but cartoon Baby Herman is actually a middle-aged cartoon forever trapped in the body of an infant. His mother is a pair of prop legs and his best friend is the beleaguered Roger Rabbit, so it is no wonder that he still cries like a baby when he drops his cigar. If you catch this baby crawling underneath your skirt, chances are that he hasn’t just lost his way. Check your behind at all times.

“Baby” (Bringing Up Baby): The “Baby” in question here is not so much an actual human infant as a tame Cheetah, which Katherine Hepburn is supposed to look after and give to her aunt. Yet even this is simply an excuse for an excellent 1930s screwball comedy from Howard Hawks (who also did the excellent His Girl Friday two years later), and a means of bringing the the leading lady together with Cary Grant. If you catch this baby crawling underneath your skirt, you have more problems that you might think.

Big Baby (Toy Story 3): Abandoned by the roadside with the strawberry-scented Lots-O’-Huggin’ Bear, the pair rule the Sunnyside Daycare Centre with iron (or more accurately plastic and furry) fists. Although Big Baby never says a word (although officially voiced by Woody Smith), the plastic baby with the lazy eye, drawn-on arm tattoo and ever-handy bottle of milk, projects an incredibly sinister visage. He is the strong-armed right-hand man-child of Lotso, and the toughest thing you’ll see in a diaper.

Adrian (aka Andy or Jenny) (Rosemary’s Baby): Rosemary had two names picked out for her baby – Andy if it was a both, and Jenny if it was a girl. Eventually a name was picked for her by a lovely and every-helpful group of neighbours. Despite a gestation period that caused a hunger for raw meat and a lust for blood, Rosemary is surprised to learn that the child has his father’s eyes. Rosemary is a reluctant mother, but is quickly convinced that a growing son need his mother close by.

Oscar Barrett (Ghostbusters II): Not many children are responsible for the (near) end of the world, but the child of Dana Barrett (Sigourney Weaver) was always going to be special. When he attracts the attention of the spirit evil Vigo the Carpathian, the date is set for New Year’s Eve to bring that essence into the real world. Naturally, when trouble’s brewing, who you gonna call? The paranormal investigators and elimnators are back to fight the evil, especially when it’s after Peter Venkman’s (Bill Murray) would-be girlfriend. Otherwise, Oscar is a normal and healthy baby, but the Ghostbusters would still like to run gynecological tests on the mother.